Foam on the Sea
by heyitscp
Summary: Neal finally comes into terms with losing Kate.


Summary: Neal finally comes into terms with losing Kate.

Yellow light from the late afternoon sun entered the now empty space he once shared with Kate Moreau, the love of his life. Neal scanned the room on a force of habit. The walls were bare as he'd last seen it, the furniture covered with white sheets were now an uncanny shade of beige and are gathering copious layers of dust. It had been years since the day he escaped out of prison with no more than four months left of his sentence, hoping to be reunited with the love of his life, only to find out that he'd missed her departure by two days. But this time there was no chance of ever finding her again. Kate was gone and there was nothing he could do to find her.

Neal turned the empty bottle of Bordeaux in his hands before gingerly placing it atop the window sill. The action made him shiver, as if a gust of cold air passed through his body. In that instant he swore the air held her perfume, sweet, mild and innocent. He closed his eyes and there was Kate. Long brown hair, silk to the touch and eyes so blue, Neal would swear that there had been times when he felt he could drown just by looking into her eyes.

Kate was the first person he ever loved. She was the one who taught him that there was more to life than the perfect con. It was a different adrenaline rush he felt when she was around, some sort of energy that consumes him, consumed him because now she was gone.

This was his way of saying goodbye to Kate once and for all.

"Good bye Kate." Neal whispered, his eyes looking far beyond the view the window could provide. His thoughts were certainly further than what the eyes could see.

The soft thud of an object falling to the ground roused him from his reverie. Lying on the floor was a book he'd lifted once before with Kate. Neal picked up the book and blew some dust from its cover.

It was on one of their first 'lessons' right after losing their jobs with Adler. They were conned and unemployed and Kate wanted an escape from reality of sorts and had her sights set on a fairytale. When they had the money, Kate swore she'd pay the store back, which eventually they did.

Some nights when Kate couldn't sleep, she would turn the nightlight on and read the same story each time. Neal would never know that Kate was haunted by nightmares of losing him that when she woke up from those dreams, she would reach for her book of fairytales and read the story of the Little Mermaid. After which she would look at her prince, sleeping soundlessly and would rest her head on his chest. In that moment, Kate would fall into a peaceful sleep, "I'm not the little mermaid" she thinks to herself, for tonight she was with her prince, and that was all that mattered.

Neal shuffled through the pages and stopped on the story that Kate read the most. He slid down to the floor and began reading. Once he'd finished the sun had already set, and the sky was a palette of dark hues of purple and blue. He closed the book, but something did not feel right. Neal began to turn it in his hands, examining it ever so meticulously, until he noticed the slightest strand of red thread that was loose from the binding at the spine. There was a tiny folded piece of paper, a letter from Kate, hidden at the book spine. It read;

_**Dear Neal**,_

_I'm looking at you and you're sleeping so peacefully. You're probably in a world where no one is trying to find you. _

_Neal, I feel like this 'reality' we have is my dream. I'm afraid to go to sleep because I can't imagine life having to wake up and you're not beside me._

_I wonder how long this will last, before we both realize that you're a prince and I'm the little mermaid who doesn't belong in your world._

_With all my heart I love you Neal Caffrey. But we both know this was never meant to last._

_**Kate**_

Neal read and re-read the letter more times than he could remember. He finally understood why Kate never came to Europe with him. She had sacrificed what she wanted, to have Neal and her living the life of fugitives in New York City, for him to be safe in a far off place where the authorities couldn't find him.

"I love you too" Neal whispers into the letter, before folding it neatly and slipping it back into the spine. He inserted the book into the breast pocket of his suit and took one last good look at the space he once shared with Kate.

Tomorrow this place would be torn down and Neal couldn't care less what they would build on it. Now he had closure and this memory of Kate, his little mermaid that would forever remain with him.

**A.N.:** It's been years since I wrote fiction and this is more of a writing exercise to get the 'feel' of it back. I've got a bunch of ideas for a story running through my mind and I was hoping I could write them down, but it would be great if another writer could pick them up and turn it into a full blown story. That would be cool. Well yeah, and comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


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